Key holder



Oct. 5, 1954 M, ENGEL x-:TAL

KEY HOLDER Filed May '7, 1952 INVENTORS MORRIS ENG JOSEPH GEPQ/Sl-l BCHYQRLE? wacom/FF \\\\1\ ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 5, 1954 KEY HOLDER Morris Engel, Joseph H. Gerrsh, and Charles E. Woodrui, New York, N. Y.

Application May 7, 1952, Serial N o. 286,576

(Cl. 'l0- 456) 11 Claims. l

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a key holder that is neat, compact and light in weight, having but few parts, none of which are likely to become deranged, which will normally retain a plurality of keys in retracted position and which may readily be operated with but one hand to select one of such plurality of keys and release the latter so that the shank thereof will be objected from the holder for use, with the head of the key securely retained in position in the holder and which will securely retain such key in ejected position, yet permit retraction thereof into the casing.

According to the invention, these objects are accomplished by the arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the key holder,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View taken along line 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing the keys in retracted position,

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing a key in ejected position,

Fig. l is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View taken along line .fi- 5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. G is a side elevational View of a key.

Referring now to the drawings, the key holder desirably comprises a hollow casing I| having a bottom and top wall |2 and I3 respectively. Each of the walls i2 and I3 has a plurality of parallel elongated grooves I 4 therein substantially rectangular in cross section as shown in Fig. 5, the grooves in said walls being aligned respectively to form a plurality of tracks.

The grooves extend from near the rounded end wall i5 of the casing I| to the mouth or outlet 5 thereof and each of the grooves in bottom wall i2 has a longitudinal arcuate groove Il in its opposed walls to form a cage for a coil spring I8 thereby preventing displacement of the latter from such groove.

The grooves It, six pairs of which are illustratively shown, serve as tracks for a plurality of keys 28, the heads 2| of the latter being cut to rectangular shape as shown so that they may readily slide in the associated track. By reason of the rectangular conformation of the heads 2|, the Shanks 22 of the keys 2D which extend at right angles to the heads, will be retained parallel to the tracks so that such Shanks may be ejected outwardly from the outlet i6 of the casing by the associated coil springs I8 which are compressed between the end of the groove in the bottom wall i2 and the associated head 2|.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the heads of the keys are retained in the casing by means of an outlet plate 23 which extends across the outlet i6, being affixed at each of the side edges thereof by screws 2d. Plate 23 has a plurality of slots 25 therethrough, of width such as to readily permit the shank 22 or the key to pass therethrough and of length such that the edges 25 of the head which extend laterally beyond the shank 22 will abut against the adjacent edges of Slots 25 as shown in Fig, 3 to retain the head of the key in the casing |I.

Means are desirably provided to retain the plurality of keys 2i; in retracted position in the casing. As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, such means desirably comprises a latch plate 3| of resilient material such as spring Steel which is axed by rivets 32 at its lateral protruding edges 33 to the top plate I3. The latch plate 3| desirably has a plurality of spaced parallel ngers 34, lying in substantially the same plane, flush against the top surface of wall E3 and extending rearwardly toward the end I5 of the casing. The ends 35 of fingers 34 are downwardly bent as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and extend respectively through a plurality of transversely aligned openings 35 in top wall I3. The downwardly bent ends 35 of the ngers 34 are so positioned as to coact with the laterally protruding edges 26 of head 2| of the keys as shown in Fig. 2 so that the outward movement of the keys 2i? from the casing by reason of the compressed coil springs i8 will be restrained.

Means are desirably provided to select and release any one of the plurality of keys Eil retained in retracted position as above pointed out. To this end as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, a selector arm 4| is pivotally mounted at its rear end 42 on the top wall is of the casing by means of a pivot pin @3. The top wall `It desirably has a raised boss lili centrally located thereon adjacent the curved end I5 of the casing i I and said boss has a longitudinal slot t5 therethrough in which the pin its may both rotate and slide. The selector' arm it is desirably retained in its rearmost position as shown in Figs. 2 land 4, with the pin d3 abutting against the end lit of slot 4.5, by means of a spring lll', mounted at its midpoint by means of a rivet it aixed in the top wall of the casing and extending through a loop #i9 in such spring. Thus, with the end 5| or the spring against the peripheral upst-anding rim 52 or top Wall i3, the tensed end 53 of the spring will be urged against a collar 5d encompassing pin et to retain the selector arm in its rearrnost position.

The selector arm 4I desirably has a trip lug 56 cut out therefrom approximately in the center of the lever midway between its ends, which lug is bent downwardly as shown and in the normal rearmost position of the lever is longitudinally spaced from an upwardly inclined cam nger 5l formed integral with each of the lingers 34 of Vlatch plate 3| near the ends 35 thereof.

The latch plate 3| desirably has a forwardly extending arm 58 integral therewith which is also of resilient spring metal. The end 59 of arm 58 is positioned beneath the rear edge 6I of a second latch plate 62 which desirably has transversely aligned notches 53 in the lateral edges 64 thereof, through each of which extends an upstanding stud S5, the latter having a rounded base 66 affixed to the top wall I3 of the casing and on which the periphery of the notches 63 rests. The latch plate 52 also desirably has a plurality of forwardly extending parallel ngers B'I each having a downwardly bent end 68 which extends respectively through a plurality of transversely aligned openings 59 in the top wall I3 near the outlet I6 of the casing. The ends 58 of fingers El serve to retain the ejected keys in their outermost position by abutting against the laterally projecting edge 26 of the head 2| of the key 28 as shown in Fig. 3.

In order to retain the lever 4| and the latch plates 3| and 32 in position on the top wall I3, a cover plate 'II is provided which conforms in contour to the upstanding peripheral rim 52 of top wall I3 and is affixed thereon as by means of screws l2. Thus, the pivot pin 43 is restrained from dislodgment from the slot 45 by the adjacent undersurface of the cover plate and the pivoted latch plate 52 is retained in position by means of rounded studs 'I3 affixed to the undersurface of the cover plate and which abut respectively against the outer end of studs 65. The cover plate 'II desirably has an arcuate slot 'I5 therein positioned over the free edge 6I of pivoted latch plate 62 as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. rlhe slot 'I5 desirably has a plurality of notches 'I in the front edge I8 thereof which are radially aligned with the axis of rotation of lever 4I and with the upstanding cam fingers 51 of latch plate 3|.

In order to move the lever 4I, a stud 'I9 is mounted in one end of the lever 4| and extends at right angle thereto outwardly through arcuate slot l5. The stud desirably has a knob 8| aixed at its outer end and desirably conformed as a pointer which may coact with numerals associated with each of the notches TI.

To use the holder, the key 23 shown in Fig. 6 desirably has its head 2| conformed to rectangular shape so that with the outlet cover removed it may readily t in the tracks in the casing formed by the associated pairs of grooves I4. The desired number of keys 2B, illustratively six, in the embodiment herein shown, are positioned in the associated tracks and forced thereinto against the tension of the associated coil spring I8. In order that the keys may be moved past the end G8 of fingers 61, which normally restrain such inward movement, the knob 8| is pressed so that the stud 'I9 which normally is retained in its outermost position by reason of the coaction of resilient arm 5S against the edge 5I of latch plate 52 against which the stud 'I9 rests, will be moved inwardly. This will cause the latch plate 62 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 3 about pivot studs 65 against the tension of arm 58 and the downwardly bent ends 68 of fingers 51 will be moved out of openings 69 and out of the path of movement of the heads of.

the keys.

The keys are thereupon moved inwardly into the associated tracks until the heads 2| thereof abut against the downwardly bent ends 35 of fingers 34. Continued inward movement of the keys will cause the ends 35 to be cammed upwardly until the heads 2| move past such ends. At such time the ends 35 will snap downwardly so that the laterally projecting edges 26 of the heads 2| will be urged against the ends 35 by the coll springs I8 and such ends will retain the keys in retracted position. The outlet cover plate 23 may then be affixed to the outlet I6 of the casing by means of screws 24.

To eject any desired key from the casing, it is merely necessary for the user to move the pointer knob 8| along arcuate slot I5 until such pointer is aligned with a number associated with the desired key. Such movement of the lever will position the downwardly bent finger 56 thereof to the rear of the cam member 5'I of the finger 34 associated with the desired key as shown in Fig. 2. The user then need merely move the button forwardly so that the stud 'I9 thereof will enter the notch 'I1 associated with the desired key. Such forward movement of the stud will cause a similar movement of the lever 4I, which movement is permitted by reason of the sliding mount of pivot pin 43 in slot 45. As the lever 4I moves forward, the downwardly bent finger 56 thereof will engage cam member 51 and cause the latter to slide upwardly on finger 53 thereby lifting the downwardly bent end 35 of the associated finger 34 out of the path of the laterally projecting edge 26 of the head 2| of the selected key. Consequently, such key will be ejected by reason of the associated coil spring I8 and will move outwardly from the casing. The head 2| of such key, as it moves past end 68 of nger 61 of latch plate 62 will cam such end upwardly and the latter will be released when the edge 26 of the head 2| moves past. Thus, the head 2| of the key will be retained in the casing abutting against the outlet plate 23 and the key will he restrained from inward movement into the casing by reason of the downwardly bent end 68 of linger 61 abutting against the edge 26 thereof.

The key is then used in conventional manner to open a lock, the casing serving as the handle or head of the key to facilitate turning thereof. After the key has been used, it may readily be moved to retracted position in the casing by first pressing down on button 8| which will cause the latch plate 52 to pivot as hereinabove described to move the end B8 of finger 6l out of the path of movement of the head of the key. The key then is pushed inwardly as far as possible until it is locked in retracted position by the end 35 of nger 34 also as previously described.

With the construction above described, a relatively compact key holder is provided which occupies little more space than the plurality of keys that it accommodates. As the holder can be operated with but one hand, the furnbling of the conventional key container or key ring to select the desired key is eliminated and as the user is acquainted with the location 0f the keys in the casing, the holder may be operated even without any light to select a key, for example, to open a front door.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A key holder comprising an elongated casing having a top and bottom wall and an outlet at one end thereof, a plurality of parallel key tracks in said casing in communication with said outlet. resil1ent means associated with said tracks normally to urge a key in each track out of said outlet, a resilient latch plate afxed to the outer surface ci said top wall and having a plurality of spaced parallel .lingers aligned respectively with said tracks and extending toward the rear of said casing, each of said fingers having a downwardly bent end extending through openings in said top wall into said tracks respectively, whereby the head of a key in each track may abut against the associated downwardly bent end to be retained in retracted position, means selectively to lift any one of said iingers to move the associated downwardly bent end away from said key head for release of such key and means to limit the outward movement of such released key through said outlet.

2. The combination sst forth in claim 1 in which the means to limit the outward movement of the released key comprises a plate afxed to the outlet of said casing, said plate having a plurality f slots therethrough aligned respectively with said tracks, the head of such keys abutting against the inner peripheries of said slots when the key is released to limit its outward movement from the casing.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which a second latch plate is mountedL on said top wall adjacent the outlet of the casing, said second latch plate having a plurality of spaced parallel lingers aligned respectively with said tracks and extending toward the outlet of said casing, each of said second latch plate fingers having a downwardly bent end extending through openings in said top wall into said tracks respectively, whereby when the head of a key is positioned between the outlet and the downwardly bent end of a second latch plate finger the latter will restrain inward movement of said key into the casing.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said plurality of parallel key tracks comprise elongated grooves in the opposed surfaces of said top and bottom walls, pairs of grooves in said top and bottom walls being transversely aligned to form tracks.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the means to lift said fingers comprises an upwardly bent cam member on each of said :lingers of said latch plate adjacent the downwardly bent end thereof and directed toward the rear end of said casing, said cam members being substantially transversely aligned across the top wall of said casing, a selector arm pivoted at its rear end on said top wall adjacent the rear end of said housing and extending toward said outlet, said selector arm being mounted for longitudinal movement, a trip lug on said selector arm normally spaced from said cam members and designed to raise the latter and the associated iinger when moved into engagement therewith and lmeans to eifect longitudinal movement of said selector arm to bring the trip lug thereon into engagement with any one of said cam members.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which said selector arm has a pivot pin at the rear end slidably and rotatably mounted in a slot in said top wall, and resilient means associated with said pin normally to retain the selector arm in rearmost position whereby upon forward movement of said selector arm, the trip lug thereon will engage one of said cam members.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which a cover plate is positioned over said top Wall and is slightly spaced therefrom, said selector arm has a pivot pin at the rear end thereof slidably and rotatably mounted in a slot in said top wall, resilient means associated with said pin normally to retain the selector arm in rearmost position, said cover plate having an arcuate slot therein adjacent the free end of said selector arm, said slot having a plurality of spaced grooves in the front edge thereof aligned respectively with said fingers, a stud connected to the free end of said selector arm extends outwardly through said slot whereby said selector arm may be pivoted to move the stud into alignment with any one of said grooves and upon forward movement of said stud into said selected groove, the trip lug thereon will engage the cam member on the associated finger to release the key in the associated track.

8. The combination set forth in claim l in which means are provided to lock the released key in outward position, said means comprising a second resilient latch plate pivotally mounted on said top wall at each of the lateral edges thereof near the outlet of said casing, said second latch plate having a plurality of spaced parallel fingers aligned respectively with said tracks and extending toward the outlet of said casing, each of the fingers of said second latch plate having a downwardly bent end extending through openings in said top wall into said tracks respectively, whereby the head of a key in each track may abut against the associated downwardly bent end-of a nger of the second latch plate to be retained in outward position and means to lift all of the lingers of said second latch plate to move any one of their downwardly bent ends away from said key for release of the latter.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 in which said first latch plate has an upwardly bent arm positioned beneath the rear edge of said second latch plate to retain the downwardly bent ends of the latter in the associated openings and the means to lift all of the iingers of said second latch plate comprises a slidably mounted stud movable against the rear edge of said second latch plate to move the latter toward the top plate against the tension of said arm whereby the second latch plate will pivot to move the downwardly bent ends thereof out of the associated openings to release the keys.

10. The combination set forth in claim l in which said plurality of parallel key tracks comprise elongated grooves in the opposed surfaces of said top and botto-m walls, pairs of grooves in said top and bottom walls being transversely aligned to form tracks, and the resilient means associated with said tracks comprises a coil spring positioned in each groove in said bottom wall.

11. The combination set forth in claim 10 in which said grooves are rectangular in cross section and the opposed walls of said grooves in the bottom wall have longitudinal arcuate grooves therein to form a cage for the associated coil spring.

References Cited in the i'lle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,008,398 Mangan July 16, 1935 2,393,373 Hendrix Jan. 22, 1945 2,490,396 Lei Dec. 6, 1949 2,566,118 Corwin et al Aug. 28, 1951 2,600,749 Gallagher June 17, 1952 2,608,851 Leff Sept. 2, 1952 

